There are currently almost 700,000 minority tribespeople who are fleeing persecution by the Myanmar military Junta, such as the Shan, Mon, Karen, Karenni, Arkanese, etc.

Why are they refugees?

When Burma became independent in 1948, many of the minority tribes (such as the Karen, Shan, and Arkanese) did not want to join Burma and wanted states of their own. There were rebellion movements launched, and the Burmese state cracked down hard on them.

However, over the years as the Military Junta took control of Burma, the state started to attack minority tribespeople, regardless of whether they were rebels or not. This drove many of them to flee to neighbouring Thailand and Bangladesh, where they either become refugees or illegal immigrants.

What has happened so far?

– 700,000 minority tribe people fleeing to neighbouring countries
– Over 3,000 villages burnt down, leaving 500,000 villagers hiding in the hills
– Burmese Army persecutes minority tribes, regardless of whether they are rebels or just peaceful villagers.
– Many cases of rape and massacres, as entire villages are burnt
– As of 2007, there are 140,000 refugees in 9 refugee camps in Thailand alone, with many having been there for more than 20 years.

How can this problem be solved?

The problem has been one that has been present for many years, and there is little that aid or resttlement can do because the problem will keep recurring time and time again.

The solution perhaps lies in diplomacy/political pressure on the Myanmese government, to encourage it to observe human rights and exercise greater control over its army units in their dealings with the minority tribes. Only if the root problem is eradicated, then can the refugee situation be resolved.

More Videos:

Refugee Camps on the Thai-Burma border

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17 responses

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li kim(18:00:46) :

please please please do something about it. diplomacy/political pressure on the Myanmese government, to observe human rights and exercise greater control over its army units in their dealings with the minority tribes. Refugee Camps on the Thai-Burma border, the enviroment tt they are living in is real terrible.
its really heartaching to see all the videos.
please give them your helping hands. i will really wish to help out in one way or another. through i dont know them but seeing them suffering is painful enough.

I truly applaud the efforts on enlightening the plight of the refugees. It is really heartwrenching to know this is happening, and i really hope that something significant will be done to deal with the situation. it is humbling to know that these people are suffering while we are leading comfortable lives….

I see human rights is totally non-existent in these countries. Wat govt would kill its ppl? n wat ppl would support these govt unless they want to be persecuted? These countries are so totally messed up.

it’s the fortunate who’re doing this to the unfortunate, isn’t it?
it’s because there’re fortunate people that there’re these unfortunate people, right?
just hope everything that can be done to save these people is being done, and that one day, the oppressors(if used correctly.) would be in the shoes of the refugees, and get a taste of what it feels like to be treated this way.
guess not everyone appreciates how lucky they really are, and would like to bring the happiness that they have to others who don’t. so yeah, hope these people can be saved, and given a better life, much better than what they’re going through now.